Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/152.html



Riding south from Otavalo, I'm staring at my GPS instead of the winding road ahead of me. I'm watching the latitude count down and giving Neda a play-by-play over the comms: N 00°00.300, N 00°00.200, N 00°00.100, until finally... S 00°00.001! We've officially crossed the equator and we're now riding in the southern hemisphere! Whoohoo!


As always, Neda is waiting in the southern hemisphere while I take my time getting over the equator

There is a monument off the side of the road right at the equatorial line, so we pull off to take some pictures and celebrate. This is a pretty big moment for us, because we've ridden north of the Arctic Circle and now we're at the middle of the Earth! However, I just calculated and we've actually traveled further longitudinally: Anchorage, Alaska to St John's, Newfoundland is about 97°, while Deadhorse, Alaska to the Equator is only 70°!

All this travel over this quarter of the Earth really accentuates the fact that we're crawling across a humongous ball. Add to it that this ball is hurtling through space, and that just blows my mind and really puts into perspective where we are in this universe!


Equator monument is in the shape of a huge sundial

This monument was erected to show how the ancient civilizations in the area were aware that this was the centre of the Earth, and used the sun, stars and landmarks on the horizon to map the passage of time. We spent a bit of time here celebrating our achievement of crossing into the southern hemisphere. We took some funny videos that when I review them now, aren't nearly as entertaining as we thought they would be and will probably never see the light of day....

On a depressing note: We've been trying to chase warmer weather for months now, and the irony that we're crossing the equator on the day after the Northern Hemisphere's Spring Equinox is not lost on us. So as of now, we're celebrating the Southern Hemisphere's Fall Equinox and heading towards winter. Sheesh!


Traffic down the main street of historic Quito

Quito should only be about an hour south of the equator, but we encounter heavy traffic once we hit the centre of town which means that we are arriving late in the afternoon. The skies are darkening as rain clouds move in and we scurry from hostel to hostel trying to find suitable accommodations.


Kate and Ras join us on a whirlwind tour of Quito

We met Kate and Ras (from California) in our hostel back in Otavalo, where we realized that we had actually seen them way back in our hostel in Popayan in Colombia - they had the room across from ours. It was obvious they were on the same circuit as we were, except they were backpacking, so we kept in touch via the Internet and when they arrived in Quito, we arranged to meet up with them again.

Since they were traveling a bit faster than we were (who doesn't), we got a taste of what sightseeing was like when you're normal tourists. We joined them on their whirlwind one-day tour of Quito, seeing all the churches and squares in the area. It was exhausting! We weren't used to the pace and the high altitude of the city had all four of us short of breath, and huffing and puffing up all the hills

It was really good having someone to talk to in English. It made me feel more like myself again, if only for a little while before I had to put the No Fumar Espanol mask back on my face.


Basilica del Vota Nacional (Basilica of the National Vow), the largest church in Quito


Oh Boy... George...

I really love those hats that all the Ecuadorians are wearing, so I try one on. I don't think I have a head for hats... Too much hair...


Neda surveys the city from the top of the Basilica


Colonial buildings line the city plaza


Iglesia de la Compania (Church of the Society of Christ)


Selling shawls on the street. I love the traditional outfits!


Outside the church, rain clouds develop

Raining every day in Quito. Not surprising. I've been looking through all of our pictures on this trip and the last time we had a stretch of days of blue skies to ride under was back in Mexico about a year ago. All our pictures ever since have been under white or grey cloudy skies. *sigh*

Despite the weather, Quito is a very beautiful, colonial city. The capital city of Ecuador and the second largest in the country, it's got a nice mix of old and new and the streets are kept very clean. After Kate and Ras leave the day after, we're going to stick around a bit and see more of the city.


Inside the Iglesia de la Compania, everything sparkles in gold! Mesmerizing!


Statues inside the church keep watch wordlessly over the faithful

Instead of climbing the large hill (El Panecillo) where the giant statue of the Virgin Mary stands overlooking the city, all four of us cram into a cab and try to get some pictures from the top of the hill before the imminent rains fall on Quito.


45-metre tall Virgin Mary


Lots of other people at the top of the hill enjoying the view

We said our sad goodbyes to Kate and Ras and spent the rest of the week exploring Quito at our own pace.


This is more Neda's pace...


Watching the birds dive around the town square


Tipico (local) food are a nice cheap sustenance, about $2 for a full meal including drink. However, we're craving a bit more variety


Strolling down the historical streets of Quito


One afternoon, we hop on the bikes, ride to the modern part of the city and splurge on sushi!
Best that we've had on this trip so far! Words can't describe how happy we are!!!


Hanging out at the shoe-shine bench in the main square


Pensive in Quito

We've spent four days in Quito trying to figure out where to go next. I think we just may have a plan to escape this dreary cold and wet weather...

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/153.html



We're going to the Galapagos Islands!

Neda is a huge wildlife buff and the perpetually sunny climate on the islands will be a good break from our rainy ride through the wet season.


More free advertising in exchange for a picture of the two of us

We needed a place to store the bikes while we were going to be away, so we dropped by Ecuador Freedom Bike Rentals to see if they could help out. Their mechanic, Diego, had a shop right across the street where we could park the motorcycles.


I needed to fuel up for the trip

Neda's been feeling a bit nauseous for the last couple of days, she suspects the ceviche she had before was the culprit. I was okay, so we found my favorite Central American chicken place, Pollo Camperos, and I pigged out on some fried chicken. This turned out to be a huge mistake.

That same night, I started feeling sick as well. Neda is usually the Distant Early Warning indicator for stomach illnesses. She gets sick and then 8-12 hours later, I do too, but 10X worse. I'm not sure if it was the food both of us ate the day before or the Pollo Camperos. I suspect it was the chicken.

We had an early morning flight out of Quito and all night I was driving the porcelain bus. Neda hovered over me like a backseat driver, and worriedly asked if we should cancel the flight. Unfortunately, it was a non-refundable ticket, so I would just have to suffer and hope the check-in desk would admit me on the plane even though I looked like death warmed over.

I got no sleep at all that night. It was still dark when the taxi rang up to our room and I picked up the phone before the first ring finished. Neda had to load all our bags in the back, and I stuck my head out the window like a dog the entire ride to get cold, fresh air on my face, and also to make sure that I would paint the outside of the car instead of the interior. At the airport, Neda checked us in while I rested on a bench, head down and rocking back and forth as if I was Rainman. Four minutes to Wapner...


Managed to get only one picture as we were landing on Santa Cruz island

I don't remember much of the trip to the Galapagos. Somewhere along the way there was a stopover, then we got on a bus, then a boat. Someone told me not to rock the boat so much. Four minutes to Wapner.


Sunny Puerto Ayora

We walked around the main town in Santa Cruz, the very touristy Puerto Ayora and knocked on a few doors to find a place to sleep. We found a nice hostel at the edge of town and I collapsed into bed and passed out for the rest of the day, completely oblivious to the fact that it wasn't raining anymore.


The next morning we shared our breakfast with a Darwin finch

We really didn't have a solid plan once arriving on the island. From the reading up we've done, most of the interesting wildlife is on the surrounding islands, which is accessible either by day trips on smaller boats or a multi-day cruise on larger ships. So we dropped in on the "Last Minute Booking" stores on the main strip of Puerto Ayora and found a good deal on an 8-day cruise that visited some of the more remote islands that were too far for the day-trip boats!

But since this was a last minute booking, the cruise only starts next week, so we've got to find other stuff to amuse ourselves while we're here. Hey, it's hot and sunny, I think we can manage.


A short boat ride takes us to Las Grietas, a narrow canyon filled with clear blue water


So much more fun than riding in the rain


Las Grietas' narrow canyon walls go all the way down into the water


We also visited the Darwin Research Station

I had no idea Charles Darwin only spent six weeks on the Galapagos islands. But he collected many samples and although the finches here are named after him, it was actually the differences in the species of mockingbirds on each island here that led him to write the Origin of Species book that outlined the theory of evolution.

I was really looking forward to visiting these islands now and seeing some of the things that he saw.


Giant turtle - not too Lonesome

At the Darwin Research Centre, we learned of the story of Lonesome George, the last remaining turtle of the Pinta subspecies. He was a symbol of the conservation efforts at Galapagos to save and preserve endangered species. However their efforts in trying to mate him with other turtles failed and he died childless in 2012, the last of his kind. Sad.

Now there's a clothing store named after him. Even sadder.


These guys weren't endangered - Land iguana. Fascinating to stare at. And they stare back too!


Watching the boats come in with their catch

There's a small impromptu fish market right across the street from our hostel. Every afternoon, when the fishing boats bring their haul on shore, they gut and filet the fish right away and sell it to all the local restaurants.


Pelicans and a sea lion are regulars here, taking advantage of the situation


In the evenings, they fry up everything they have left and you can have a fresh fish dinner right at the docks!


Making sure nothing goes to waste!

One evening we got a knock at our door. The owner told us there had just been an earthquake in Chile and they were evacuating everyone in the island to higher ground because of the threat of a tsunami. Holy crap! The largest tsunami that hit the Galapagos was back in 2011, when an earthquake in Japan caused the tides to rise 2 meters above normal, causing extensive flooding all along the flat coasts of all the islands.

Thankfully the speed of telecommunications is faster than a tsunami, which travels about 600 km/h. We were about 1,000 kms away from the epicentre, which gave us well over an hour to evacuate. We took all the essentials, our documents, electronics and most importantly, Neda's Kindle. We thought it would be an odyssey involving Land Rovers, the army and long lines of traffic leading away from the coast, but instead we hiked less than a km uphill to a stadium where people were playing a game of volleyball under the floodlights.

We only saw one pickup truck loaded with furniture race up the hill. Everyone else was strolling casually to the designated point for this part of the island. It seemed like they had done this many times before.


Some people bunkered down the night

The stadium was fairly empty since there were other evacuation spots in the city and we were on the outskirts of town. People gathered inside and outside and made themselves comfortable for the next little while. The volleyball players must have felt like they were Olympic athletes with all the attention from their new-found audience!

Over the next couple of hours, everyone milled about trying to find word of the status of the people affected in Chile and whether the tsunami was developing underwater. Every once in a while a police truck would come by, blue and red flashing lights cutting through the night, and they'd give us a status update, but the best way to get information was to sit by someone with a portable radio. From there, we learned of the exact ETA of when a tsunami would hit Galapagos, as well as the magnitude of the earthquake: 8.2. Not small at all. Thankfully, it was just off the coast and the casualty rate was limited to a handful of people who died of heart attacks.

All this up-to-date information and still we would have to wait it out, wondering if an undersea surge of water was hurtling towards us or not.


Inside the stadium, trying to find ways to amuse ourselves

Time passed by slowly, but word eventually got around the stadium that no tsunami had hit the coast. It all seemed pretty anti-climactic, nothing at all like the Armageddon or disaster movies. The official alert ended 1 hour after the ETA just to be safe, however shortly after we found out, people started heading back down towards the shoreline. We shrugged our shoulders and walked back down as well. Aftershocks, schmaftershocks...


Everything is still dry down here

All the power was turned off in our hostel in anticipation of the flooding and the owners still hadn't returned yet. So we waited outside a cafe next door and used their wi-fi under the street lights to let our friends and family know that we were okay. What an eventful last couple of days!

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/154.html


Our route around the Galapagos takes us through a variety of different islands with different terrains and wildlife.


18 passengers + 6 crew on the Yolita II

From Puerto Ayora, we head back to the airport on Baltra Island, where we meet the rest of the passengers of the Yolita II, our floating home for the next 8 days. They're a mix of young and young-at-heart and they all speak English! It feels so good to be socializing again in our native tongue!


A freak nuclear waste spill on Genovesa Island resulted in some two-headed birds


The red-footed booby is rarer than its blue-footed cousin, even though it looks more commonplace

Neda loves all sorts of nature and she's really looking forward to seeing the wildlife. I'm not so much into it. I'm just on Galapagos so I can legitimately use the word "boobies" in every other sentence. There is a strict policy on Galapagos not to interfere with the wildlife, the rule is to always stay 4-feet or more from the animals. So basically I can look at boobies, but I can't touch them....

And so it begins.


Male frigate bird

As part of its mating ritual, the male frigate bird blows up a big red pouch under its beak to attract females. The bigger the pouch and the longer it can hold it, the more likely he is to attract a mate. They look like a chinless man trying to change a pillowcase. We walked through a whole field of these things, and the whole time I was humming "99 Luftballons"...


This guy got all the chicks


Baby blue-footed booby hiding out in the bush, safe from from predators
I had to thread my camera in to get a good picture. So cute!!!


Neda was so happy being around all these birds

It was pretty incredible how close we could get to the birds, they weren't afraid of people at all. There are so many visitors to the islands that they're so used to the human presence, especially when everyone keeps to the 4-foot rule.


If it wasn't for the 4-foot rule, I could have taken a picture of what this bird had for lunch


The heavy-lidded owl was at the top of the food chain, feeding on other birds


Sunset on Genovesa Island

We visited the Bahia Sullivan (Sullivan Bay) on Isabela Island. It's comprised mainly of lava that flowed out from the volcano but was cooled very quickly by the ocean so that it retained its molten shapes and forms.


Pinnacle Rock on neighbouring Bortolome Island is a famous Galapagos landmark


Like walking on the face of a planet designed by H. R. Giger (RIP)


We found ourselves part of a tour group

It felt very strange being a part of an organized tour. The pace of the 8-day schedule was relentless and we weren't used to having such regimented daily AM and PM activities. People paying for such a tour really get their money's worth! We make fun of people doing bus tours all the time, and here we are on the same kind of tour. I guess it's time to get off our high horse...


Volcanic lava frozen in the moment in came in contact with the ocean.
The black rock had a cool, metallic sheen to it.


"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came..."


Neda fell down a deep crevasse. So I took some pictures. She asked for a hand. So I clapped...

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Why do all turtles look like toothless old men? "Damn kids! Get off my lawn!"

Did you know that the Spanish word for tortoise is "Galapago". That's what the islands were named after when they were first discovered.


Blue-footed booby. This picture looks like a negative.

We had come to Galapagos specifically to see the blue-footed booby, but surprisingly, I don't have many pictures of it. It's such a funny-looking bird with its cross-eyed stare, but it is Ecuador's national bird. The blue feet are such an anomaly, like seeing a tiger with pink stripes.


The Galapagos penguins are the furthest northern-dwelling pengiun in the world


They're not as majestic looking as their Emperor cousins at the south pole

We got a chance to snorkel with the penguins and they were so cute and curious about us, playfully darting in and out and all around us.


Blue-footed booby watches our dinghy tour through his home


This female turtle waited too long to lay her eggs and was caught out late in the season and died of sun exposure


Land iguana is checking out his new home


Beached coral found all over the island


A lizard scopes us out from his coral perch


This is us soaking up the heat and the sun. Totally loving it here!


"Catches thieves, just like flies...!"


We just sat and stared at these colourful crabs while they chowed down on some washed up seafood


Here there be monsters

When the first explorers landed on Galapagos, they thought these marine iguanas were monsters. Ironically, these scary-looking creatures are vegetarians, only eating seaweed and algae from the ocean floor. I tried to take an up-close video of one while snorkeling ahead of it, however as I turned around to face it, it didn't slow down or change course, but headed directly towards me. Holy crap, was that a scary sight! I quickly ducked out of its way, because, um... of the 4-foot rule, not because I'm a chicken-hearted booby....


Ever wonder what a movie audience looks like?

Neda says that she finds it so interesting how as most animals have evolved out of the water, these marine iguanas have basically evolved to be aquatic once again, finding food and sustenance in the seas. They're able to hold their breaths for long periods while eating underwater and once they're back on land, they blow the salt from the ocean waters out of their nostrils. The waves crashing on the rocky coast was constantly interrupted by the sounds of these iguanas sneezing salt into the air!


What a beautiful-looking hawk!


Would not want to be on the receiving ends of those talons


Booby tucks his blue-feet in, diving into the ocean for food

You'd think these boobys would break their necks diving in to such shallow waters at that speeds, but somehow they're able to turn their bodies right after entering the water to stop from hitting the bottom.


Our last day on board the Yolita II

This was a great way to take a little vacation from our vacation. We got to make some great new friends on the boat, as well as see some cool wildlife, but most of all, we got away from the constant rains on the mainland. So glad we came to the Galapagos!

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Looks like a pretty awesome vacation-cation. Pics are just spectacular!

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Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/155.html



It's been awhile since I exercised my video editing skills, so here's a wrap-up of our time in the Galapagos Islands. We're going to miss all the fun, sun and wildlife here!



This video also marks the third waterproof camera that I've managed to drown. Hopefully I can find a replacement on the mainland.

Note: If the video above doesn't play for you, then you can see it on our blog at http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/155.html. Apparently YouTube has banned Shakira from Germany...

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Great video! LOVE the very end, Brilliant!!

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Submariner
Life Member DAV
BMW MOA member
BMW Riders of Oklahoma

Hi gene! Thanks again for those links. So where do I have to go to now to catch up to you?

Blog is the latest but only by a few minutes... I just have to get off my butt and start putting up pictures and writing.

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Well Gene........we're waiting!

__________________
Submariner
Life Member DAV
BMW MOA member
BMW Riders of Oklahoma

Impatiently....

Wow.


This is one of the best threads on the internet!

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/156.html



After a too-short two week vacation in the sunny Galapagos Islands, we flew back to Quito to be reunited with our motorcycles. We're feeling like our batteries have been recharged and we're ready to tackle the road ahead!


Although Neda loved the sunshine and the wildlife, she missed her bike more!


The long-overdue haircut. I was almost smooth-talked into a red streak...

We found out that an important religious holiday called Semana Santa (Holy Week) was being celebrated this week, and that there would be a big parade in the city to commemorate the coming Easter weekend. So we decided to stay a few days to see what the fuss was all about.


Oh no.

There was supposed to be some kind of parade of lights in the city streets on the Thursday evening, so we took a streetcar down to the historic centre. The skies darkened considerably before sunset, and our much-hated nemesis, the rain, started falling in sheets, drenching the buildings and the parks, sending everyone scrambling for shelter


Some of the residents are used to the rain


Water bouncing off the pavement, it was raining that hard!


We watched the rain from the shelter of one of the colonial buildings, huddled together with many of Quito's residents waiting for a break in the waterworks


Had a inside this cool-looking mall


The rains never really stopped that evening, but it did let up a few times

We walked the wet city streets looking for the Parade of Lights. We asked the locals and nobody seemed to know. Some said it was the day after, others said that there wasn't anything scheduled for that evening. Some policemen sent us in the wrong direction. We were wet and miserable. It was a very unsuccessful outing.


One of the places we ducked into was the main cathedral where they were having a mass. It was beautiful inside!


We called it an early night and rode back in the streetcar

We thought our batteries had been recharged from our time in the Galapagos. But being back amidst the constant rains had drained our morale almost immediately. Our batteries weren't holding a charge very well...


Policemen lined up, getting instructions for the big parade

The day after was Good Friday, and we headed back into the city for the scheduled afternoon parade. We knew this was going to happen because of the sheer number of people that were out on the streets. We've read that a quarter of a million people descend on the streets surrounding the Plaza de San Francisco to celebrate and watch the procession. An hour before the parade was to begin, most of the people had already taken up their positions on the curbs. Because we didn't know the route or the best places to see the parade, we got pushed to the back of the crowd.


Not going to make the obvious comment...

Every Latin American city celebrates Semana Santa a bit differently. In Quito, the parade is called the Procession of Jesus Of Great Power. Penitents, dressed as Jesus, show their devotion by dragging large crosses through the streets. They're accompanied by others in purple hooded tunics. The hoods rise up in huge cones and the men who wear them are called Cucuruchos, which is the Spanish word for "cone". The cones are a symbol of humility and purple is the colour of penitence.

The hooded Cucuruchos are a bit creepy-looking. And I'm not only saying that because I'm a visible minority...


Holding tightly to a card printed with the Virgin Mary


Females who wore purple tunics are called Veronicas, named after the woman who offered Jesus her veil to wipe his face


I couldn't believe how heavy this cross was!

This penitent above had to cut across the crowd to join the procession. We were directly in his path and had to move to give him space to pass. Because the crowd was so thick, we were pressed up against him and I reached up to help support the cross as he pushed through the people. Even with several people helping him hold up the wooden pole, I could feel the weight of the cross on his shoulder. It was as heavy as a telephone pole! This young man chose to drag a telephone pole through the streets for three hours! And the foot of the cross wasn't even on rollers! That is devotion!


More penitents and Cucuruchos slowly walking the streets

While there were many people in the crowd who were very religious, holding up flyers with the Virgin Mary and Jesus printed on them, there were many others like us who were just tourists, marveling at the sights and taking pictures of the procession.


As the afternoon wore on, clouds started settling over the city. We knew what was to happen soon...


Even Spidey took a break from catching thieves (just like flies), to celebrate Semana Santa


There were marching bands, priests in brown robes, floats, all sorts of different participants


After the parade, we shared a large bowl of Fanesca

Fanesca is a well-known Ecuadorian traditional soup with salted cod only served during Semana Santa. It's a very symbolic dish consisting of 12 ingredients, each ingredient representing an apostle, with the fish representing Jesus. We had grown a bit tired of the tipico meals in Latin America, but the Fanesca was a delicious change.

With Semana Santa over, it was time to flee the rains once again. This time we'll take our bikes with us...

__________________
Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

On June 14th 2012, we started a journey that was purposely designed to have no plan, no schedule and no destination. Throughout the last couple of years, we've had a lot of moments where we've said to each other, "Let's stay here awhile longer", as well as one: "Where else does this ship sail to? Cuba? Sounds good!" We've ridden through Central America twice, almost became Colombian citizens, and then cruised the Galapagos Islands, all according to no plan whatsoever.

So this last weekend, it was with bittersweet feelings that we celebrated our second anniversary on the road, because the winds are now pushing us half-way across the world to attend to a family emergency.

We've spent the last two weeks trying to organize our motorcycles and personal effects to be shipped to Croatia. In between all of the planning and logistics and worry, we took a small moment to remember what is important in our lives. That it's not the miles traveled, or the places seen - it's who you spend the time with. And that's exactly what we'll be continuing to do in Europe.

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Wishing you both a safe journey / enjoyed following along on your quest...
All the Best

hickeryonthemove
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